Next Generation Municipal Financial Empowerment Award Given to Five U.S.
Mayors
Award Recognizes, Supports Emerging Municipal Financial Empowerment Leaders
New York, NY (May 13, 2015) — Capital One and the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE
Fund) today announced the five cities, Boston, MA; New Haven, CT; Oakland, CA; San José, CA and
Shreveport, LA, whose mayors have received the Next Generation Municipal Financial Empowerment
Award. The award consists of a $20,000 planning grant, coupled with technical assistance
consulting from the CFE Fund, to develop new strategies for these five administrations to address
poverty through innovative financial empowerment programs such as financial counseling, access to
safe and appropriate banking products, and asset-building opportunities.
With this award, the CFE Fund will help Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, New Haven Mayor Toni N. Harp,
and Shreveport Mayor Ollie Tyler develop entirely new financial empowerment programs, beginning
with a stakeholder analysis and an assessment of the cities’ existing financial empowerment
capabilities. In Oakland, Mayor Libby Schaaf will work with the CFE Fund to develop a citywide
framework for a comprehensive financial empowerment strategy. New Haven Mayor Toni N. Harp is
committed to working with local partners like Yale University to develop financial empowerment
programs for the homeless and prisoners reentering the community. Mayor of Shreveport Ollie Tyler
will work with the CFE Fund to create a Mayoral Financial Empowerment Commission that will focus
on providing residents with support services to properly manage their finances.
Under the leadership of Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Boston plans to focus on continuing to integrate its
financial wellness screening initiatives into existing social service programs through its recently
established Office of Financial Empowerment. In San José, Mayor Sam Liccardo is developing a
workforce program geared towards youth and young adults called San José Works, and will work with
the CFE Fund to embed financial empowerment strategies.
The CFE Fund made these five mayor awards through a competitive application process.
“Mayors control a host of policies, programs, and funding streams that can transform the lives of
residents with low incomes on a large scale. More and more city leaders, including these newlyelected Mayors, are embracing high-quality financial empowerment programs as an effective way to
stabilize and grow the financial lives of their city residents and communities,” said Jonathan Mintz,
President and Chief Executive Officer of the CFE Fund. “We congratulate the Mayors of Boston, New
Haven, Oakland, San José, and Shreveport on their Next Generation Municipal Financial
Empowerment Awards and look forward to working with them to empower their residents and their
cities; and we thank Capital One for their longstanding commitment to and investment in municipal
financial empowerment.”
In addition to the mayoral planning grants, the CFE Fund will provide technical assistance support in
the following areas:
•
Needs Assessment: Assessing each city’s financial empowerment needs, stakeholders, and
integration opportunities
•
•
•
Strategic Planning: Creating a detailed strategic plan to help guide city agencies from
inception to implementation
Funding and Sustainability: Advising cities on identifying potential funding streams to launch
and sustain programs
Data and Evaluation: Designing and assessing data collection systems to monitor and
evaluate progress
This award is part of the CFE Fund’s professional services portfolio, which supports municipal
administrations, local legislators, nonprofits and community-based organizations, and local and
national philanthropy in the development of municipal financial empowerment approaches.
“At Capital One, we know that giving people an opportunity to enhance their financial well being is
critical to the success of our local communities and for the continued growth of our economy,” said
Daniel Delehanty, Senior Director of Community Development Banking of Capital One. “Through the
grants that are being awarded, the mayors and the municipalities we’ve partnered with will continue
to drive innovative financial empowerment programs and help more people better manage their
finances so that they make the best decisions for their future.”
“I’m honored to be chosen for the CFE Fund’s Next Generation Municipal Financial Empowerment
Award. This award recognizes my administration's commitment to improving the economic stability of
all Bostonians through programs that help residents prepare for good jobs at living wages, build
personal wealth, and create a path to financial stability,” said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “As
Vice-Chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Cities of Opportunity Task Force, I have pledged to
confront the inequality that is holding back too many Americans and too many Bostonians. We look
forward to a partnership between the CFE Fund and Boston’s new Office of Financial Empowerment
that will help us overcome these disparities.”
“This is a great opportunity for New Haven, allowing the city to create meaningful opportunities for
low-income residents to build wealth and become more economically secure,” said New Haven
Mayor Toni N. Harp. “In receiving this award we’re grateful for the generosity of Capital One and we
look forward to receiving CFE Fund technical support to aid my administration with development and
implementation of this program.”
“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to help financially empower Oaklanders,” said Oakland
Mayor Libby Schaaf. “Access to effective asset-building tools is the type of support that low-income
residents in Oakland need to build wealth for their families. This public-private partnership with
Capital One and the CFE Fund will strengthen Oakland communities by increasing low-income
families’ financial stability helping to make our city a more vibrant, equitable community that is
growing responsibly.”
“Through San José Works we aim to give our youth the tools needed to get a financially stable start,"
said San José Mayor Sam Liccardo. “We thank Capital One and the CFE Fund for providing the
resources necessary to ensure our youth make sound financial decisions today and for decades to
come. This partnership will also allow us to strategically explore how the City can support additional
financial empowerment opportunities for our community.”
"I am excited about the possibilities this grant presents for our citizens to help them improve their
financial footing and secure better futures for their families," said Shreveport Mayor Ollie Tyler.
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About the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund)
The CFE Fund supports municipal efforts to improve the financial stability of households by
leveraging opportunities unique to local government. By translating cutting edge experience with
large scale programs, research, and policy in cities of all sizes, the CFE Fund assists mayors and
other local leaders to identify, develop, fund, implement, and research pilots and programs that help
families build assets and make the most of their financial resources. For more information, please
visit www.cfefund.org or follow us on Twitter at @CFEFund.
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose
subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $205.9
billion in deposits and $298.3 billion in total assets as of June 30, 2014. Headquartered
in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to
consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One,
N.A. has
approximately
900
branch
locations
primarily
in New
York, New
Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company,
Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in
the S&P 100 index.
Media Contacts:
CFE Fund
Joel Moore
[email protected]
(212) 885-0468
Capital One
Steven Thorpe
[email protected]
(504) 533-2753